How to get a Starter Edition:

“Log into your Battle.net Account Management page and navigate to the Download Game Clientssection. The Diablo III Starter Edition will be available for download there. Players without a Battle.net account can create one, and then download the Starter Edition.” – Diablo III Starter Edition & Guest Pass

If you’re looking for a Diablo 3 Guest Pass then leave a comment below asking for one and I’m sure someone will be kind enough to comment with a guest pass that you can use.

More information on how Guest Passes and Starter Edition work can be found on the Battle.net site.

Swindler

The game opened up with too much difficulty. In the first level, as you’re adjusting to the controls and learning how they work, the game is already tossing a decently sized level at you with enemies. While not very challenging once you’ve completed a few levels, this was certainly something that most people thought was discouraging. The later levels were also challenging, but not in the sense that you didn’t know the controls well enough, or lacked experience in the game, but instead of a game, that was simply difficulty and well designed, that actually felt rewarding. Many games are too easy, this one though was a nice change. Already, before I was getting out of the single digit levels, I felt a real challenge. What is interesting, is that even levels, at the time of playing them, I hated them, for I would die so many times, I would actually feel the reward of completing them, which is something that I can say that many games don’t achieve. Overall, the game had a good difficulty and I loved it for that.

The gameplay itself is very simple, but the way the developer executes it and then develops it as the game progresses is extremely impressive. The game begins as a rope-physics game, where the character is attached at the end of a line and then moves by swinging. This is a concept that I’ve seen a couple of times before, but I’ve certainly never seen it so well executed. The physics also felt spot-on, which is a big bonus from me. Like i said, the game’s concept is highly developed as time goes on. New enemies are introduces and new blocks arrive. Quickly in the game, switches are introduced and make you touch them to remove a wall that is in your path. The idea that the screen can rotate is also interesting and allows a lot of room for interesting levels. The level design was amazing. Some games seem to toss together levels and then move on to the next one. These levels are obviously well though-out and offer a good challenge. What I was unimpressed with, and this is just one thing, is that some levels, and by some, I mean very few, relied less on thinking and strategy, and more on luck. Overall, for the most part the gameplay is unique to this game and it offers strong challenge and brilliant level design.

One thing that has attracted me to Nitrome, since the very first day that I saw it, was the magnificent pixel art. I am a pixel artist, but the stuff that the guys over at Nitrome come up with is genius. The artwork is sharp and has great color that seems to flow throughout every piece. The animation is super smooth and the little character is cute. I love the rough look that the game is given and the backgrounds are faded to give a good view of the playing area. Overall, the artwork was really good and I love the pixel art style that Nitrome is popular for.

The music fits the game perfectly. It had a bit of mystery and seemingly fit the puzzle theme as well. For the most part, it was quiet and had a very smooth sound, but it also incorporated some eight bit sounds that tied in with the artwork of the game. The sound effects were also a perfect addition to the game and didn’t distract too much for the beautiful music. Overall, the music incorporated nicely with the game and fit into the puzzle theme well.

Swindler

All in all, Swindler is an amazing puzzle game that I high recommend. If you want to be challenged with various puzzles and enemies, that actually feels rewarding, then look no further than Swindler, as it combines both of those into one amazing game that’ll keep you hooked. In review, the game was difficult to learn and get used to the controls, but once you do it just down to a matter of skill and thinking things out in the game. The gameplay is based off a couple of things that I’ve seen before, but it combines in such a way that Swindler is extremely unique and is unlike any other game I’ve played. The artwork, like all of Nitrome’s games that I’ve seen, is pixel-art based and really looks fantastic. Finally, the music works well with the game. Overall, Swindler is one of the best games that I’ve played in a while and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a great puzzler. Be sure to play it today on Armor Games!

Play Swindler on Armor Games!

Fancy Pants Adventure: World 3

The difficulty of the game hasn’t changed too much, though I’d have to say that the game has gotten easier. While, this game is about the same length as the other games, there weren’t too many enemies and I can easily beat the game without coming close to dying a single time. I always felt that this was lacking in the Fancy Pants series, but from another angle, you can see why these games are so fun, there is little challenge and the main characters run a million-miles-a-hour doing flips and going through loops. I did like the addition of the ninjas, which occasionally hit me, but never could do enough damage to actually kill me off. A new addition were the helmed units, which you couldn’t kill by jumping on their heads, but you had to hit them with your pencil sword first. As long as you plan everything correctly, this still isn’t much of a challenge.

The gameplay itself was incredible. Since I first played Fancy Pants I loved the slick controls that had Fancy Pants sliding cross the screen. While you slide, you still had a lot of control over the character, which I loved. What caught my eye when I first played the games were the loops that the character could simply run through, upside-down. Of course, Fancy Pants 3 hasn’t abandoned that and you regularly find yourself being tossed around the screen as you come off of a big loop. The storyline itself was a nice addition. The previous games had very simple storylines, one being that your ice creme cone had been stolen. Fancy Pants Adventure: World 3 takes it to a whole new level and actually delves a bit more into the world of Fancy Pants by introducing his little sister. His sister eventually becomes a pirate captain and tries to kill you. I liked the extra depth the storyline gave the game.

Fancy Pants Adventure: World 3

One of the things that I’ve always admired about the Fancy Pants series is that, while others games were aiming for a more realistic style, Fancy Pants remained very cartoonish. Some parts of the game come together very well to form a wonderful landscape. The game has a very simple style and utilizes few colors to achieve beautiful scenery. What caught my eye the first time I played the series was the extremely smooth animation. This is also true for Fancy Pants Adventure: World 3, where a few new enemies and a few new animations for Fancy Pants man comes in play. The animation is unbelievably smooth and slick – you won’t see this in too many games.

The music was also another big part of the game. There were different music tracks, it seemed, for every zone, or level. Like the previous Fancy Pants games, Fancy Pants Adventure: World 3 has a very upbeat and energetic music. It works very well with the cute storyline and the simple artwork.

All in all, Fancy Pants Adventure: World 3 is a game that you won’t want to miss! If you enjoyed the previous games, then you’ll undoubtedly love World 3 as it brings everything you love about Fancy Pants to the table, and more. In review, the game isn’t too difficulty. I would like to see some enemies with a bit more health, and able to deal more damage, but for the most part, this factor keep the game easy, fun and quick to play. The gameplay is something that I hope never changes. The game is always fun to play, as Fancy Pants man run around the levels, like an Olympic sprinter, and can run upside-down. The game also introduces a few new units that changed up the game a bit that continued to spice up the game. The artwork is simple and fits the cute and humorous writing of the game. Finally, I loved the music and the sound effects. They worked extremely well with the game and the different levels. All in all, if you loved the first games, like I, then you’ll love World 3!

Wasted Youth Part 1, snags first place for me because of it’s wonderful storyline and RPG elements that coem together to form one amazing game. Unfortunately, on Kongregate, it rated quite low (3.85) because of some initial bug that lagged the game when it first came out. Now it works fine and in my opinion deserves the first place for best game of the year. The characters were all so unique and had their own personalities. The game brings you on an adventure to St. Frost Academy, a school for troubled children and you soon find yourself in the wacky antics of the school, of which you don’t even have to go to the classes and instead you must quest around the school. With tons of awesome quests, and side quest and an overall awesome storyline that eventually ends in one epic cliffhanger, this makes for an amazing game. If you haven’t played the game yet, then get over to Kongregate right now and play it. The developer GPStuidos has been working on the sequel since then, but I wouldn’t say that you’ll be seeing the game in the near future. I’m really looking forward to the sequel and wish best of luck to the developer.

RPG Shooter Starwish is an amazing RPG game (as you probably guessed by the title) and it revolves around the future events of a space crew that is fighting a mysterious enemy. The gameplay alone, isn’t what really made the game. The gameplay is actually based off of the Kongregate Shootorials if I remember correctly, which is introduction to Flash teaching you how to make a simple shooter game. What really makes this game is the storyline. There is a ton of characters that as you advance through the game, you learn more and more about them and by the end of the game you feel as though you know the characters very well. It beautifully written and the plot is amazing. Accompanied with amazing art, Starwish makes it onto my list of best games of the year. If you love a good storyline then look no further than RPG Shooter Starwish. Check it out on Kongregate today!

The Last Stand Union City takes third place in my book. It’s a great sequel to the Last Stand 2. Unlike many sequels, this one is a fantastic improvement over the original Last Stand games and provides a new insight into the world of The Last Stand. Instead of just defending specific points and leveling up your hero, this time around you have to explore Union City and enter buildings filled with zombies! This is by far one of my favorite shooter games of the year and is easily the b est zombie-based game of the year as it provides wondrously both excellent gameplay and storyline. As you kill more zombies you’ll be able to earn new upgrades and skill points to power-up your hero. If you’re looking for a great shooter and missed The Last Stand Union City then you’ll want to head over to your favorite Flash portal and play it!

Sierra 7 is the first great first-person Flash shooter that I’ve ever seen. You play a lone soldier that must take down numerous enemies in each level is a style similar to the popular Call of Duty games. Your character will automatically move when the coast is clear and when it is not you’ll have to take out the enemy before he takes you out. Battles will continue in buildings and streets. There are several missions from hostage situations, sniping challenges and classic run and gun battles in the streets. There is several difficulty modes if you want to challenge yourself and even after you’ve completed the campaign you can try various challenges to complete. This might not be the longest game, but the campaign is fulfilling and exciting throughout. While this isn’t close to replacing your Call of Duty or Battlefield game, it is a good hour of fun that any shooter fan will enjoy!

Bullet Heaven is quite the opposite of its name. Bullet hell is a term that you may not be familiar with, but after playing this game you’ll know all about it. Your goal is kill enemies in a top-down shooter style as you fly above land, water and lava. Along the way you’ll get the chance to use different characters all with different attack styles. This game is actually closely connect to the Epic Battle Fantasy series, as all of the characters are usable in Bullet Heaven. At the end of each level there is a giant boss that’ll shoot tons of bullets. This is a very addictive game that’ll keep you hooked until you complete it. if you liked the original Epic Battle Fantasy game or if you’re a fan of bullet hell games, like the popular Frantic 1 and 2 then you’ll not want to spare a second before firing up this game!

More Honorable Mentions:

Play Wake Up the Box 3 today on Armor Games!

Legend of the Void

Probably, the only thing lacking in this game is the difficulty. I didn’t put too much thought into leveling up and how I adjusted my skills, but I didn’t lose a single battle the entire game, except for one against the last boss Gazzen and his companion. For me, a difficulty selection would have been great to see, even if it only adjusted the health and power of the enemies by a bit. A little extra challenge wouldn’t hurt and I left the game with a rewarding sense, but one accomplished through fighting only loads of weak monsters. Some of the battles were a bit close, but luck was on my side most of the time. Overall, monsters did pose a bit of a threat, but with the ability to fully heal in between battles, most battles were in your favor from the get-go.

I really liked the gameplay. The developer violatorgames, described the Legend of the Void as a cross between Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo and Armor Games’ Sonny and I have to agree. I haven’t played any Diablo, but from screenshot, the adventure/exploration of these two games is pretty similar and the combat system is undeniably like Sonny. If you enjoyed either of those games then you’ll no doubt love Legend of the Void which seems to create a wondrous split between the two games. The adventure part of the game was very good and I loved all the different side quests you could take up or the different groups you could go after, even if not necessary, which would thus reward you with various items in their hang-out. The battle system, much like Sonny’s had great navigation and allowed the battles to be quick and rewarding. One feature that really caught my eye was the save character feature. This allowed you to save your character into a code format and then be able to save your character and share it with the world. Of course, this works vice-versa and you’re able to load up other’s characters. This is an awesome feature that i hope will allow us to load our own characters, or others onto the second episode! One thing that I have to point out, is the developer himself. He has been constantly updating the game and listening to everyone’s feedback. He’s truly listened to the people, heard their complaints and suggestions and is keeping in touch with the fans to provide an even better game.

Legend of the Void

The artwork was very good! I loved every bit of it and the graphics looked realistic and I’m sure that that is what he was going for.  The top down view was perfect for exploration and unlike some games, the exploration artwork was equal in quality to the battle scenes. Some games just take the opportunity to go super simplistic, or just don’t think that the exploration art is as important as the battle scenes. On the contrary, I think that the exploration is as equally important. Kimball provides absolutely fantastic artwork for the exploration and carries over the same goodness of the exploration art over to the battle scenes. Characters in the battle scenes were very detailed and well shaded. Character animation was fluid and had convincingly human movements to them. The backgrounds to these epic battles were dark caverns and foggy forests, all of which looked amazing!

While quiet, the adventure music added great atmosphere to the game. There isn’t much to say about the ambient piece, but that it seemed to keep the game alive and made you feel a bit more “in” the game. It was also a bit dark and matched the mood of the game perfectly. The battle music was really great. It was really dramatic and brought in some band instruments that really create an epic, adventurous, battle mood. It was the perfect fit for the game. Sound effects, like most RPGs were very present in almost everything that happens in the game, from attacking someone, to being attacked, to the simple pitter-patter of your feet moving across the ground.

Overall, the Legend of the Void, I predict is going to be another big series. This game is already a big hit with the people on Kongregate and I can’t imagine that changing anywhere else. So far the game has scored nearly 150K views in the last couple of days and that number is climbing fast. I personally, can’t wait for the next game. This one was a bit short though, but I do hope that the other ones are longer. The developer, Blake Kimball is really devoted to his fans and so far many suggestions have been taken to make the game even better and complaints have been fixed. In review, this is one of the best RPGs games that I’ve played in a while. The difficulty ramp was perfect, but I wouldn’t have minded if the monsters were a bit tougher throughout the game to provide a bit more challenge. The gameplay was wonderful and the story was pretty good. The ability to save your character and import other made this perfect for replay and opens the door for being able to import your character into the second episode of this series (which I hope he does)! The graphics were fantastic and had a great realistic style to them that was very attractive. The music was perfect for the game. The ambiance was perfect in adventure and when the battles heated up, so did the music as it transition to something much more adventurous and epic. All in all, Legend of the Void is one of my favorite games that I’ve played in a while, and I’m much looking forward to the second addition. If you haven’t played Legend of the Void then you’re are missing out! Be sure to play it today on Kongregate!

Play Legend of the Void on Kongregate!

Villainous

Villainous is actually a very challenging game! Once you get to around level 10 or so, you’ll start to notice the towers on the screen start to pile up and, overall, the game is much more challenging from when it first started. There were actually a lot of towers working against you, such as the Rapid Tower, another that caused earthquakes, a third that caused damage over and area and more. In your arsenal you also had a stun spell, which quickly became your best friend, stunning and stopping the fire a turret for the round. The trick to Villainous is to have your units in a good order so that their team buffs work a full potential. I’ve heard that this combination works quite well: (front to end) two goblins, shield golem, healer, four goblins, shield golem, healer, and two goblins.

I’ve seen a couple of these tower defense games where you play as the villain and must summon the monsters, but never have I seen the genre executed in such a fashion. The gameplay was phenomenal and very unique compared to the other couple of games in the genre. I loved the summoning and the strategy and thought you had to put into it to work out a perfect team and mixture of units. The battles were fun and spells were a nice addition to the game giving you a little bit of extra power and backing you up. Levels were challenging and fun to play. Gameplay was fast and exciting and kept the game moving at a good pace. The skill-leveling was actually done in a very nice fashion. I loved that the castle expanded as you bought new upgrades for your units and yourself.

Villainous

The artwork was amazing and the color choice made the objects on the screen not only fit in with the rest of their surroundings, but also allowed them to pop out and become visible. The pathway looked really good, but was obviously tiled. I don’t know if the rest of the ground is tiled, but if so they did a fantastic job. I would have loved to see a bit of variation in the cobblestone. Animation was obviously well done and looked great and very smooth and fluid. Trees looked great as well, but I would have liked to see more than two trees, but still it looked wonderful. My only complaint about the artwork are the mountains. Usually the base and second level of the mountains looked sublime, but the third level was extremely blurry and pixelated.

The music matched the game excellently. It seemed very adventurous and medieval-like. It sounded very classically, which I’m a big fan of. The piece also have a very good rhythm to it and wast pretty fast-paced. I thought that the piece worked extremely well with the game and created an overall better atmosphere. Like all great tower defense games, Villainous featured a great variety of sound effects that lit up the game and created a more realistic atmosphere for the game. Sound effects such as the towers firing, explosions, hitting buttons and collecting items, et cetera, were all featured in this great game.

All in all, Villainous is by far the best game in its genre! Anyone that is tired of the boring old TD, but is still a TD enthusiast, will definitely love this game as it keeps the same concepts of a TD, but turns the tables and lets you be the villain! In review, the difficulty was grand and once you reach around level 10 you’ll definite start to feel the pressure pile up. Anyone that’s looking for a good challenge must play Villainous! The gameplay was very unique and has been rarely attempted before. I loved the summoning system and the upgrade system. The artwork is sublime, but at some parts the art is really blurry and pixelated. The artist could have definitely refined the art a bit and cleaned it up. Finally, the music was perfect and fit the game quite well. Sound effects also sounded great and really created a great atmosphere for the game! In conclusion, Villainous is one of the best “anti-TDs” I’ve ever seen. Be sure to play it today on Kongregate!

Play Villainous on Kongregate!

Play Kaboomz 2 on Kongregate!

Play Hands of War 2 – Expansion Edition on Armor Games!

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